The present invention resides generally in the field of implants for promoting bone growth, and in one particular aspect the invention relates to implants for promoting bone growth that contain an osteogenic protein combined with a porous matrix material.
As further background, a wide variety of therapeutic regimens are undertaken to induce the growth of bone of a patient into a desired region. Examples of such therapeutic regimens exist in the field of spinal surgery, including a variety of spinal fusion procedures. Illustratively, in posterolateral fusion procedures, bone growth is induced to fuse transverse processes of adjacent vertebrae, typically in the lumbar spine. In the predominant historic and current practice, bone of the patient harvested from the iliac crest is implanted between transverse processes of the patient to facilitate the growth of a bone mass sufficient to achieve arthrodesis. However, increased costs and risks are associated with the harvest of the patient's bone, and in some patients there may be insufficient quality iliac crest bone for the procedure. Consequently, more recent efforts in academics and industry have explored the development of procedures that minimize or eliminate the need to harvest patient bone.
In certain areas of study, implants including osteogenic proteins have been used instead of or as a supplement to autogeneous bone. The use of such osteogenic proteins is itself accompanied by a variety of challenges. The active protein materials are commonly complicated to obtain or produce, costly, and highly regulated. As well, challenges are presented in determining the optimal and most effective use of the osteogenic proteins to generate relevant masses of bone for fusion or other purposes.
In light of this background, there remain needs for improved and/or alternative osteogenic implant materials as well as related materials and methods for their preparation and use. The present invention is addressed to these needs.